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Forum editorial: Flood fight cleanup goes well

A visitor to Fargo-Moorhead would be hard-pressed to find evidence the region had just gone through a record flood. With few exceptions, temporary earthen levees are gone. Sandbags have been cleared from neighborhoods. Scars on street berms have been healed or patched. Even mud-stained roads have been washed and swept.

In other words, the post-flood cleanup has gone very well. It’s no small accomplishment. The flood was a record-setter, not only because of the Red River’s crest, but also because of the unprecedented volume of earth and number of sandbags that were dug or filled, moved to where needed and then removed in relatively short order.

Of course, there were glitches. A project of such magnitude could not be done without a few missteps. Not every homeowner or businessperson who was affected by the flood and its aftermath is cheering the cleanup effort. But overall, the work has gone better than expected, primarily as a result of good planning, contract requirements and efficient companies doing the work.

It’s not all done. Some of the major construction work under way this summer in the cities is either directly or indirectly related to flood projects and flood damage. That’s especially true in rural areas where roads were washed away or otherwise damaged in the floods.

Considering the intensity and extent of the flood fight, cleanup of the aftermath gets a grade A. Thus far, a job well done.

Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper’s Editorial Board.